The first song I remember hearing
David Bowie – ‘Ziggy Stardust’
“There are songs that you listen to, but then there are songs that you hear, right? David Bowie was someone that my dad would always play. When I was younger, I didn’t like his music, but when I got a bit older I started really appreciating it. I remember thinking the lyrics were cool, it was unconventional and kind of about gender – and it was how I felt from a young age.“
The first song I fell in love with
Blur – ‘Girls & Boys’
“Again, it that was about gender – and it was a bit like: ‘What do the lyrics mean?’ it was an anthem for the ’90s really. I loved Britpop, so that was one that I fell in love with. Britpop’s influenced quite a lot [of my music].”
The first album I bought
Britney Spears – ‘…Baby One More Time’
“I was about six, and I remember having money and going to Woolworths and buying a Britney Spears album. I think I’m trying to be a bit like: ‘Ooh the first song I ever heard was ‘Ziggy Stardust’’, but really Britney Spears was the one that I fell in love with straight away.”
The first gig I went to
Bowling For Soup – Norwich, 2007
“I was 13 years old, first gig with my friend’s older brother. Me and my mum, we’d been to T4 on the Beach when it was in Great Yarmouth, so I’d seen all that. I felt a bit cool and a bit adult. This was in my pop punk phase – I used to love all of that music – and I remember going in a mosh pit and being like: ‘What am I doing? But this is amazing’.
The song that reminds me of home
Amy Winehouse – ‘Back to Black’
“When I was a teenager my mum would always have Amy playing, whether it was ‘Frank’ or ‘Back to Black’. We were going to go and see her live, but unfortunately we weren’t able to. Amy was something that we bonded over. Whenever I listen to her, I think of my mum.”
The song I wish I’d written
Lily Allen – ‘The Fear’
“It’s one of my favourite pop songs of all time. I’m a big Lily Allen fan. And I think as I’ve gotten older, I’ve really understood a lot more about – not where she’s coming from because I’ll never know her experience – but like the fact she was singing a song called ‘Not Fair’ about a man that was shit in bed in the noughties, it was quite a big thing.”
The song I can’t get out of my head
Lauryn Hill – ‘Superstar’
“I’ve been listening to a lot of [1998 album] ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’. Lyrically, Lauryn is someone that I really, really look to. Lily Allen for that wit; but Lauryn Hill for telling a story. It’s passionate and she knows what she’s about and what she’s saying. I think that whole album’s just a masterpiece.”
The song I can no longer listen to
Frankie Goes To Hollywood – ‘Relax’
“That was the song I had to lip-sync to on the first episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK – so not fond memories!”
The song I want played at my funeral
Madonna – ‘Frozen’
“I want an ensemble of dancers, and I want it to be dramatic. I want to be carried through while everyone’s [singing] and it’s just heartbreaking. I want everyone crying, and I want Madonna to come up and perform as well.”
The song that reminds me of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK
The Cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, Season 2 – ‘UK Hun?’ (United Kingdolls version)
“Obviously, that was a breakout song for Drag Race. When it started to take off it was crazy! That was a weird one because that episode was a bit of a turning point for me in the show when people started taking me a bit more seriously, and it’s attached to that, and everyone was going crazy over our verses and doing the dance. We didn’t expect that to happen. When we first heard the song, we thought it was a bit shit… but with what was going on in the world, we just needed something that was a bit stupid to lift our spirits.”
Bimini Bon Boulash’s debut single ‘God Save This Queen’ is out now
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